The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has submitted an application to the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) for a $1 million grant that will fund a bikesharing system in southern Montgomery County. The bikeshare application to MDOT is the fifth grant submitted by MCDOT over the past three years seeking funding for bikesharing, but the first to the State of Maryland, which announced a bikeshare grant program this November.

Just in time for Christmas, single low-income mother of two, Shanita Godfrey, was awarded a 2001 Toyota Camry by Vehicles For Change; a Maryland nonprofit who refurbishes donated cars and awards them to qualified low-income families at affordable prices.

“It means a lot. My kid’s love going different places but it just takes too much time and they are always exhausted by the time we get there. Now we can actually enjoy going out together. This is the best Christmas ever,” explained Shanita Godfrey.

Godfrey had a five-hour round-trip commute a day to her Gaithersburg job and children’s day care via public transportation. Now with her new car, her commute is cut in half.

In the midst of the holiday shopping onslaught, it's good to remember the true meaning of the season. A friend of mine, Terence Tomlin, a chef and one-time front man of the phenomenal funk band The Mighty Heard, posted a story on Facebook that brought a tear to my eye. I think Terry's story deserves a bigger audience, so here it is, in his own words:

"Last Tuesday on my way to work I saw a lady struggling with her three kids. Looking at them reminded me of June 1980 when my mother took me, my brother and sister out of a abusive household leaving Bridgeport for California.